Current Psychiatry

Articles from Vol. 10, No. 8, August

Vasovagal syncope--also called neuro-cardiogenic syncope--is a brief loss of consciousness caused by a sudden drop in heart rate and blood pressure usually diagnosed and treated by a cardiologist. Psychiatrists rarely are consulted in such cases, but...

Does prescribing stimulants to patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) increase their risk of future substance abuse? Because ADHD is a common pediatric condition with symptoms that often persist into adulthood, and stimulants...

Dr. Nasrallah's editorial ("A skeptical view of 'progress' in psychiatry," From the Editor, CURRENT PSYCHIATRY, June 2011, p. 18-19) is intriguing because it summarized concerns I have seen frequently expressed in publications catering to psychiatrists....

Regarding Dr. Nasrallah's insightful editorial ("A skeptical view of 'progress' in psychiatry," From the Editor, Current Psychiatry, June 2011, p. 18-19): Since the late 1980s and early 1990s, the Employment Retirement Income Security Act, has enabled...

Psychiatrists--especially residents--often prefer to reside close to the hospitals in which they train and work. Training programs in urban settings may offer their residents housing either attached to the hospital or immediately adjacent to it. ...

As psychiatry's Understanding of borderline personality disorder (BPD) grows, the literature clearly describes the seriousness of BPD, as well as these patients' high utilization of treatment. Pharmacotherapy for BPD remains controversial The most...

You are treating Mr. P, age 34, for schizoaffective disorder. He smokes 1 pack of cigarettes per day and has smoked for approximately 17 years. He has tried to stop but never has been able to quit for more than a few weeks. He reveals whenever he tries...

The placebo effect--when a patient's symptoms improve with an inert pill--is widely recognized in medicine. Placebo has an especially important role in psychiatry, especially given the fact that a substantial proportion of patients with mood, anxiety,...

CASE Relapsing psychosis Ms. U, age 53, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia at age 21 and has a continuous pattern of frequent relapses and inpatient admissions. She has received therapeutic doses of trifluoperazine, sertindole, haloperidol,...